The Young Mother

   The young Mother set her foot on the path of life. “Is the way long?” she asked. And her guide said “Yes, and the way is hard” “And you will be old before you reach the end of it.  But the end will be better than the beginning.” But the young Mother was happy and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years.  So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way and bathed with them in the clear streams, and the sun shone on them and life was good, and the young Mother cried, “Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.” 

     Then night came, and the storm, and the path was hard, and the children shook with cold, and the Mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said “Oh, Mother, we are not afraid for you are near and no harm can come”. And the Mother said “This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage.”

     And morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the Mother was weary, but at all times she said to the children, “a little patience and we are there.”  So the children climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, “We could not have done it without you, Mother.”  And the Mother, when she lay down that night, looked at the stars and said “This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness.  Yesterday, I have them courage, today I have given them strength.”

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth--clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the Mother said…”Look up. Lift your eyes to the Light.” And the children looked and saw above the clouds and Everlasting Glory and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness.  And that night the Mother said “This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God”.

     And the days went on and the weeks and the months, and the years, and the Mother grew older and she was little and bent.  But her children were tall and strong and walked with courage.  And when the way was hard, they helped their Mother and when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather, and at last they came to a hill and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and golden gate flung wide.

And the Mother said:  “I have reached the end of my journey.  And now I know that the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone and their children after them".  And the children said “You will always walk with us Mother even when you have gone through the gates.”

     And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her.  And they said “We cannot see her, but she is with us still.  A Mother like ours is more than a memory, she is a living presence".

I posted this in memory of my dear friend Rhoda who passed away recently. Tomorrow I will attend her funeral/farewell service and give copies of this poem to the three adult children she has left behind.

 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

taken from Proverbs chapter 31

Teaching Them To Love Their Children

A dear friend of mine died peacefully in her sleep a few nights ago. In our last brief conversation, I addressed the business at hand and then closed, telling her that I'd call her back sometime soon so that we could "catch up" with one another....
Handwritten notes from her have become treasures, as have the photos and the memories of her beautiful smile and sing songy voice!

But, I'm writing this to declare a tribute that one of her daughters shared with me. She was telling me how hard it will be to not have her Mom around, especially for her two daughters. How much her mother loved her four tiny granddaughters and how much it hurts to contemplate the future without their sweet grandmother involved in their lives. She had been at all of their births, helped out in those first few difficult days with the new babies; making sure her girls were recovering well rested and well fed. With tears she anticipated what the upcoming birthdays would be like without Grandma. It was just so painful to imagine that these little ones would not know their Grandma. And then with a deep breath of resolve and more tears she straightened her shoulders and declared "It makes me want to be just like my Mom so that they can know her that way".

What a blessing this mother has left for her daughters. No bad memories, no regrets!

Makes me think of the passage written by the apostle Paul..."follow me as I follow Christ". These girls have a pattern of godliness to hold on to. Their mother's ways will continue to bless and guide them in her absence, bringing forth more fruit for the Kingdom of Christ. What better way for an older woman to teach the younger women to love their children, as we are instructed in Titus 2, than by just doing it?